Fire…Works
Pt. 2 – How The Fire…Works
I. Introduction
Fireworks are an integral part of our lives as Americans. We have become accustomed to using them as part of our celebration. No July 4th or New Year’s Eve Party is complete without these explosions.
Likewise I would say that the fire…works we began talking about last week, being the power of the Holy Spirit, are integral to our lives as Christians. In fact one the things that we must understand, is that the Holy Spirit is so important in our lives that it has even been promised that it is for our children. We discover this in Acts 2:38-39.
38And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him.
If the promise is for our children too it should show us just how badly we need the Holy Spirit. We need the explosion of His power in our lives. We can’t even live effectively as children without this element in our lives.
You will remember that we discussed the idea that:
a. Fire. . .Works display takes a lot of work and preparation.
We won’t just show up and have one. We have to prepare with prayer, praise, personally.
b. Visiting or frequenting a fireworks stand doesn’t mean that you will have a fireworks display.
In other words, attending a Pentecostal Church doesn’t make you Pentecostal any more than sitting in a garage makes you a corvette. You must experience Pentecost for yourself.
c. Fire. . .works have an inherent risk. Fire. . .works can be dangerous!
And yet, I for all of the inherent risks of fireworks I am not ready to do away with the fireworks display.
d. Fire…Works don’t have to be limited to once a year! And the other thing we have done is make certain fireworks illegal or off limits.
But this morning what I want to do is talk about the Top 10 ways the Fire…Works. The fireworks you buy for the 4th of July can be placed in categories. Each firework has a specific purpose. It has a specific job that it carries out. You can’t have a balanced firework show unless you understand the purpose and objective of each firework. Likewise, when we discuss the Holy Spirit we must understand the purpose of the fire!
It isn’t enough to want fire…works, we must understand why we need the fire. I am preaching on it in this order because most Pentecostals have become so focused on the gifts of the Holy Spirit (which we will discuss next week) that they have overlooked the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives on a daily basis. Too often we have restricted or boxed in the Holy Spirit to a few outbreaks in services. When the truth is He has works that He performs daily in our lives if we will allow Him to do so.
II. Fire…Works
If you had to write a job description for God what would it say?
God is to make sure everything in the universe is working properly.
God is to look out for orphans, widows, and those who are down and out.
God is to love everyone.
God is to hold everyone accountable for their actions and attitudes.
What about for Jesus?
Jesus is to forgive sins.
Jesus is to provide healing for our bodies.
Jesus is to change my heart.
But what about the Holy Spirit? What is His job description? Is it to make our services powerful? Is it to give us goose bumps? Is He just for a few gifts that operate occasionally? The Holy Spirit has been given a job description by God and it crucial for us to understand His role or we miss out on accessing these things that He does in and through us. Let’s look at how the fire…works.
1. The Holy Spirit brings Regeneration –
The word “regeneration” is only found twice in Scripture and one of these deals specifically with the role of the Holy Spirit.
This is found in Titus 3:4-5. It says, “4But when the kindness of God our Saviour, and his love toward man, appeared, 5not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”
This word literally means a “new birth.” The Greek word (palingenesia) is used by classical writers with reference to the changes produced by the return of spring. It is a renovation of our heart. In other words, one of the Holy Spirits roles in our lives is to work with Christ to change our heart. To bring rebirth to us. To make everything new. If you have been saved or if you are going to be born again the Holy Spirit will have a hand in that process. It is one of the fire…works.
2. The Holy Spirit Convicts Of Sin - John 16:7-8
7Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you. 8And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
One of the key Fire…Works is that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin. This happens leading up to salvation and continues after salvation. He is our spiritual referee. He blows the whistle when we are about to commit a foul or step out of bounds.
This is important because presently there is no difference between the way many of you live and how non-Christians live. We do the same things the world does. We go the same places, drink the same thing, say the same thing, struggle with the same thing and it is the Holy Spirit that can help change that. He is the one who will convict us and cause us to desire and live righteously in the middle of sin filled society.
Many Christians seem to have a hard time knowing what is right or what is wrong, but if you have the Holy Spirit He will help you discover what you should do. The Holy Spirit is that extra ingredient that will give you the ability to live holy and righteous.
Galatians 5:16-25 tells us the secret to remaining holy in our society.
“16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. 18But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, 21envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. 24And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. 25If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk.
It is living in and walking the Spirit! His fruit is different than the world’s fruit! You need Him! The Fire…Works!
3. The Holy Spirit Comforts In Time Of Sorrow – John 14:16
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever,”
Some of you are facing some dire situation. Some of your lives and situations are in chaos. Out of control. How do you keep it all together in those types of surroundings? How do you face death in your family with peace? How do you face financial struggles with assurance? How do you face impossible circumstances and trust for a way to be made where there is no way? How do you make it through when everyone else is turning to drink and drugs? When everyone else is going crazy and having nervous breakdowns? When everyone else is wringing their hands how can you stand there and say nothing is impossible with God? It is one of the fire…works. The Holy Spirit is the comforter that can help you stay calm, cool, and collected in any situation. Even facing the hardest situations you can have peace and comfort in your soul. You don’t need a valium to calm you down. What you need is the comfort of the Holy Spirit in your life!
4. He Teaches Us God’s Will - John 14:26a, 16:13
26But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things…
13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come.
Have you ever been reading Scripture and had something jump off the page? That is what the Holy Spirit does. He teaches us. He speaks to us and gives us insight that we don’t have on our own.
He is able to help us know God’s will. Too many of us can’t seem to get past our will. We know what we want, but what does God want? The Holy Spirit helps us discover the will of God. He helps us to know the mind of Christ. He guides us into truth! The Holy Spirit will bear witness that we are hearing truth! There is a lot of stuff out that sounds like truth and sounds valid. The Holy Spirit will help you wade through all of that junk and get to the truth!
5. He Helps Us To Remember - John 14:26b
26But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.
One of the ways the fire…works is that the Holy Spirit helps us to remember. He reminds us of the truth we have learned in Christ. I don’t expect that with your natural mind that you will remember everything I have ever preached about. I am not good enough and your brains are already on information overload when you get here. However, the Holy Spirit will step in right in the middle of a moment when you need truth that we have talked about and bring it to your memory.
Haven’t you had a moment when out of nowhere you remember something a preacher said, a Sunday school teacher said, a passage of Scripture that you read 10 years ago? That is what the Holy Spirit does.
The Holy Spirit helps our natural mind recall supernatural things. Our carnal mind creates a chasm between us and God. The Holy Spirit narrows that gap and helps us take on the Mind of Christ. He helps us remember the right thing at the right time so that we make the right decision.
6. He Gives Us Power To Overcome The Devil - 1 John 4:4
4Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
One commentator says it like this, “greater is the Holy Spirit which is in you, than the spirit which is in the world.”
Unless we have the Holy Spirit working in our lives the promises and the truth we learn from God’s Word are unattainable because the enemy we face is too strong for us. Remember we wrestle not against flesh and blood. If it were a natural foe we could possibly overcome him with natural means and strength. However, our enemy is supernatural and it requires supernatural power to defeat him. That is where the Holy Spirit comes into the picture because it is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord!
Will power won’t get it done. Support from friends won’t get the victory. It is as the Holy Spirit empowers us to fight in a different arena a spiritual one that we gain victory.
If you are having trouble fighting the devil, if it seems that you are constantly on the short end of the stick in this fight then you need the power of the Holy Spirit operating in you so that you can effectively fight back.
7. He Empowers Us For Service – Act 6
According to Scripture and the history of the early church the Holy Spirit was crucial for Christian service. In Acts 6, the disciples needed assistance to do the business of the church. Guess what one of the things they looked for to determine if a person was qualified to service was?
Listen to Acts 6:3 - Look ye out therefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
They looked for men who had natural ability – full of wisdom. But they thought that just necessary was that they be full of the Holy Spirit.
What we must realize is that the Holy Spirit is not just something you have so you can worship better and feel better about a service. No, the Holy Spirit is given to us to empower us for service. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit and you are not serving something is wrong. You are wasting this power or misplacing this power somewhere else.
Do you know what we need? We need ushers, greeters, sound operators, children’s workers, church cleaners, youth workers, outreach volunteers who serve by mixing their natural gifting with supernatural empowerment. You will serve smarter and more effectively and you won’t burn out in His power.
8. He communicates for us and through us – Romans 8:26-27
26And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; 27and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
The Holy Spirit is our direct pipeline to the Father. When we pray in other tongues we are praying in a special prayer language that allows us to communicate with God and we pray what we should pray even when we don’t what we should pray. Which prayer is answered our will or His will? Then we need the Holy Spirit so that we will pray His Will.
I Corinthians 14:2 - 2For he that speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God; for no man understandeth; but in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
It is a language that only God can understand. It is icing not the whole cake. It is one important part.
9. To Witness – Acts 1:8
8But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
The Holy Spirit is crucial because He enables and empowers us to witness. The Holy Spirit is not just about goose bumps and other tongues. His purpose is to give us that extra amount of courage and desire to share the gospel with others.
It wasn’t natural ability or boldness that caused that intimidated group of disciples to become great witnesses. It was after they had received the Holy Spirit that they were able to get out of their clique and comfort zone to reach out to others.
Acts 1:8 tells us from the very beginning that we will receive power to witness when we receive. The Holy Spirit isn’t just for you it is really about those you are called to reach.
Too many of you are just too quite about Jesus. It is time for you to get so filled with the power of the Holy Spirit that you can’t be contained. So full of the Spirit that you won’t be intimidated or embarrassed to open your mouth and be a witness. When was the last time you spoke up and told someone about Jesus?
It is power to be bold about Jesus. Not about how outgoing you are. This is power beyond yourself and in spite of yourself.
10. He gives Gifts – won’t talk about that this morning because that will be topic of next week’s message.
Prayer – begin to serve in power, struggling to overcome the enemy, need to be filled or refilled
